Drill & Driver Bits

The cheap bits that decide whether a job goes smoothly or strips a screw.

Head to head

Tile Drill Bits

The best tile drill bits for bathroom and kitchen tiles

Three tile drill bit sets ranked for porcelain and ceramic — a branded set for screw holes, a budget kit with more sizes, and diamond hole saws for big clearance holes.

What to look for in drill and driver bits

Match the bit to the material

HSS for timber and soft metal, cobalt for hard steel, masonry bits for brick and concrete. The wrong bit burns out fast and makes a mess of the hole.

Coatings

Titanium-coated bits last longer than plain HSS in general use, but the coating is skin-deep. For real hard-metal work, cobalt is hard all the way through.

Shank and fit

Driver bits use a 1/4-inch hex; drill bits a round or hex shank. Impact-rated bits are made to take the hammering an impact driver dishes out without snapping.

Big holes

Past about 13mm, twist bits run out of puff. Spade bits bore fast rough holes in timber; hole saws cut clean circles for door handles and downlights.